Student Symposium on Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights

April 18/18

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Global Affairs Canada,
125 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario

About

In partnership with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Global Affairs Canada’s Digital Inclusion Lab (Office of Human Rights, Freedoms and Inclusion) hosted a Student Symposium on AI and Human Rights on April 18, 2018.

The Symposium was a culmination of a yearlong initiative undertaken by 50 students from 10 Canadian universities. Beside the students and their faculty, the Symposium brought together representatives from the private sector, academic experts, and government officials to develop policy recommendations aimed at positioning Canada as a global leader on AI that is human rights respecting and promoting.

PROJECTS

Throughout the year, 13 student teams from universities across Canada worked together to develop policy suggestions to present to Global Affairs Canada as an input to the department’s planning. The topics ranged from online extremism to gender and racial bias; from global governance to fake news. Each team’s final memoranda of action and presentations are below.

BREAKOUT TEAMS

During the Symposium, students were divided into three teams to develop a collaborative policy proposal in just two hours. Teams then presented their proposals to a panel featuring CIFAR CEO Dr. Alan Bernstein, Global Affairs Canada Deputy Minister Ian Shugart, and Advanced Symbolics President Erin Kelly.